The Paducah Bourbon Society is raising money to buy solar panels for a local homeless shelter in an effort to cut utility costs.
The Paducah Cooperative Ministries’ Fresh Start Village provides shelter for homeless women and children. Heidi Surheinrich, Paducah Cooperative Ministries executive director, said Fresh Start Village began in 2016 helped 180 people in its first year.
Paducah Bourbon Society founder Brian Shemwell said he wanted to find an out-of-the-box way to help PCM by focusing on their highest expenditure: the utility bill.
“If we just contributed $500 a month here, $1,500, etcetera, etcetera. Once that money is gone, it’s gone. So Bryant came up with the idea and was like if we were able to do stuff with the solar panels it’s going to be the gift that keeps on giving,” Shemwell said.
The effort is dubbed ‘Project Helios’ and has a goal of $15,000 dollars on GoFundMe. Shemwell said he hopes to inspire other organizations and businesses to contribute to the project.
The Kentucky Housing Corporation found in a 2016 report McCracken County had one of the highest percentage of homeless in the state.
